After a lengthy trial period, I've finally settled on the current colours -- closer to the originally proposed 'Athrun theme' XP

Sugoi yo, ano Cirque du Soleil!

I probably missed some great acts, but what I saw still amazed me. The four white pajama guys are hilarious, and the two red nose clowns are funny both together and alone. The diabolos seem very impressive, though I know it's easily (OK, maybe not that easily) doable by many. All in all, that was a good show. It probably would be a lot more impressive seeing it in person, but you can see it more clearly on TV. Besides, the ticket ain't cheap. XP

Matantei Loki Ragnarok 完食!

What can I say? It's not a bad anime. The art is lush, elaborate, and colourful, and the cast is very good. Most of the characters are Norse deities, but they are just like humans, except they have supernatural power. This is also the series where I discovered Park Romi, who has since become one of my favourite seiyuu. Oh, Morikubo Shotaro (Thor/Narugami), too. As for coupledom, I suppose I like the Loki (adult) x Mayura OR Kotaro x Mayura pairings.

It sure scared me big time this morning when the lights on the modem flashed and there was no connection. I thought they finally decided to cut our service. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed, though, seeing how I did grab quite a bit of stuff (Argento Soma alone accounted for almost 5G). Hopefully we'll manage to keep the connection, and people don't post large files of series I want. (Again, though, tough luck. Someone seems to be posting Juuni Kokuki in OGM format with both the Japanese and English tracks...)

Yoshhha!! Calgary beats Tampa Bay, 3 - 0! Can you see the sea of red pour out into the streets from the stadium and cars honking all the way? I can. ^__^

Ahh~ Haven't sold a computer system in some time now; it's no wonder I'm still a little giddy now, 30 mins after the sell.

The couple originally dropped in to compare price for a particular HP model after checking around in FutureShop. Turned out we don't carry that model. After finding out what it's gonna be used for and for whom, I suggested another model. Then they said they just want a normal monitor, but I changed their mind. They ended up getting a 17" LCD (the husband wanted a 19" but wife said no) to go with the computer. On top of that, there're the surge protector, the wireless PCI card, and a 3-yr warranty on the PC.

Though all my effort went in vain as the scanner turned off itself from idleness. I scanned the isles twice already! Gotta do it again next week...-__-

And now that I think of it, we forgot about speakers. Oops. ^__^;;

*plays MP3 from AIR OST*

bro: "Is this from some anime?"

me: "No. It's from a game. I've never played it. It's one of those so-called bishoujou games."

bro: "Oh. No wonder the music doesn't sound like the style of the games you usually play. You know, Gundam or Final Fantasy."

me: "...."

What? Nani ga warui? -__-#

Argos no Senshi kanryo!

Iia, hontou ni natsukashi na~ I used to play this game on the Red-White NES over a decade ago. It's still great fun to play, though I remember it being longer and more difficult. *shrug* Hey, I was using emulator, after all. XP

OK, something's definitely very wrong here. There is no reason why the computer should suddenly restart itself without any warning like this, and it's not the first time!

To be frank, the new system is all nice and wonderful, but the little quirks are starting to set doubts in me: only the front speakers work because the sound card is on-board while I asked for a Sound Blaster sound card; the CD drive makes very strange noises when it reads discs; the computer suddenly restarts without warning (I have a growing suspicion that the CD drive might be at fault here? The incidents occurred today both happened when I tried to read the content of some CDs... Guuzen ka? Soretome...)

Is it time to get it to be checked already?

It's dead, ya hear me? Dead! I didn't sell anything at all today, and we were just sort of walking around towards the end. *sigh* This is bad for business. Though I was kinda 'grateful' for the close to null traffic in the parking lot because I didn't lock the back door of my car...

Ah! So that's what Pandemonium means! I thought it's the boss demon or something... ^__^;; So, instead of trying to type shurajyou in kanji, I'll just use pandemonium from now on! XD

BTW, the soap opera part of the Feng Yun tape was most amusing. Too bad Ding Ning failed. I like her better than Chu Chu. XP

Yaa, Argento Soma turns out to be quite a series, after all. I'm still not planning to burn it or buy it though. Soreni sasuga Yukimura! I knew he wouldn't betray Sasuke and the others like that! ^__^

On the other hand, it seems that I'll have to wait a bit longer before getting the ones I really want, since it's cheaper when all the DVDs come out. Shitakanai ne. I'll wait until all the Wolf's Rain DVDs are out; maybe by then Mugen no Ryvius will also be out? I have enough on CD right now to last me till next year anyhow. XP

Finally finished with the catch-ups! That was very tiring, and I had to rack my brain to remember the happenings. Now that Coordinator is in my room, hopefully I'll be able to post everyday on schedule (fat chance).

Yes, the new system is now sitting beside and on my desk in my room, thanks to all those time and effort I put into clearing up the space and re-organising my belongings. The only complaints I have are the non-adjustable height of my wooden chair and the silent rear speakers. What good are they if they don't sound?? Better ask Peter about them tomorrow.

Everyone told me different things, but it was good that everything was resolved in the end, though not without much frustration on both the customer's and my part. CrossExchange, huh? Nice. I'll keep that in mind. :)

Ah, prayer meetings that I haven't been attending much, how I miss you! The short translation session on Israel history and Kings was interesting, but, alas, nothing beats the praying and the praise and worship after that.

I probably should had ride with someone else instead of going over to Way's with bro, but who would had thought it would take him one hour?? The cookie was good though, and the race part of the 2nd Black Stallion movie was still blood pumping as always.

On a last note, NEVER try to mix warmed milk with Napoleon ice cream. Very bad. The leftovers Mum brought back were good, though. Mended my stomach problem somewhat. XP

So it's a peace offering, huh? Whatever the motive, the all-you-can-eat at Topgun was very fulfilling.

After supper, I set out on a mission in acquiring the much needed surge protector and maybe an anime DVD or two, depending on what's out there. On brother's request, I picked up his copying order while grabbing the mission item... $173.76??! You ordered a job for that sum of money?!?!

On the other hand, it seems that even FutureShop's stock on anime is shrinking. Don't tell me I'll have to get all my DVDs from Taiwan now? There's that stupid region code thing, ya know! >__<

I knew it. The nuke was only covered, not disarmed.

It started about noon after a brief pre-war missiles. The battlefield was eerily quiet when one side retreated elsewhere. Then it recommenced with full force just when we were about to leave. Luckily, like the previous ones, I was not the main target and managed to escape with few scratches.

Another truce, but how long will this one last?

Sweet! Samurai Deeper Kyo manga! I've always wanted to read those after learning that the manga is a lot more in-depth than the anime version (this is true for almost all manga-turned anime, ne?) but never got a chance to. At last! My curiosity fulfilled (somewhat)! XD

Only read the first volume so far, no Yukimura, Sasuke, or Benitora yet. The art isn't as good as the anime (not to mention that the characters look too young for their experience and age) and there is no excellent seiyuu to give characters life and back the story up, but the slightly different scenarios and variations are nice. Looking forward to the next volume!

Another short shift, another few hours to kill. This time Guildford was the choice of location, partly because I needed food and didn't want the usual junk.

A couple pleasant surprises. First off, Mr. Sub with Greek bread and pineapple is great! Though the price isn't as sweet. Second, Gundam SEED graphic novel vol.1 and the small calendar sheet with CLAMP's Tsubasa art! Though Athrun is drawn way too femininely and it's basically the same thing as the anime. Third, Cat World Encyclopedia @ 19.99 +tax! Though I'd like a dog one a lot more.

Had a short but pleasant talk with Pastor Priscilla after the service. Other than the usual what I'm doing these days, she invited me to join the choir. Truthfully, I would much prefer being away from people's eyes. I would even call myself a backstage person. I don't like to be praised. I'd feel awkward. Anyway, I replied that I'd need to think about it and see how my schedule turns out. Not much chance of me joining, though, from the looks of it. *shrug* We'll see.

Was it luck or misfortune? Just when I made up my mind to go to the CAYAC meeting, Mum issued the order to mow the lawn. Well, I know I was supposed to do that yesterday but didn't, but I only have two shifts next week. Can't I just do it sometimes next week? The gas price would probably be lower, too.

Alas, it's no use arguing so I ended up mowing the lawn instead of going. And everyone phoned in to ask why I didn't go... That'd teach you the importance of doing things when they're due.

After all this time, Gokusen still moves me greatly.

I'm talking about the drama series, of course. The original manga series isn't bad (well, the art is bad..), but it just doesn't have the same excitement and feel as the drama version. The anime version is even worse. The only highlights of that version are Suzumura Kenichi (Sawada Shin) and Konishi Katsuyuki (Shinohara-sensei), and they don't even get to speak much.

The new LCD monitor looks very beautiful, but because of the high resolution, everything looks much smaller than they used to be. Chotto zannen ne.

Ooh, I didn't know there's a new computer store in Guildford. Though I admit, it looks very small and empty...

On another note, London Drugs' nii-san, why is it that you gave me an answer that differs from that from our consultants? I'll have to go with our guys on this one, since there is quite a bit of difference in the prices. I'll check out that new computer store some other day and make my decision.

...What is this messed up schedule? I was the only one after 4:30?? Luckily, Russ was nice enough to stay an hour late to give me two breaks. Luckily it was dead, unlike the other day.

Who would have thought setting up a new system would be this troublesome? After the basic Windows settings and the security and anti-virus stuff, the download and installation frenzy started.

Mozilla, Firefox, winamp, flash, java, real player, quicktime, acrobat reader, ACD see, regseek, adaware, NJ Star, winzip, winrar, xnews, icq, icq plus, and of course, the necessary audio/video decoder package.

Then each needed to be configured individually. It took me a whole day! It's nice and comforting to have all these working on the computer, though. Definitely worth the time and effort.

It was only a four-hour shift, but to avoid getting lectured, I had to stay out late, just like when I used to skip school. Pathetic, if you ask me.

The library had once again become my refuge, especially now that I had nowhere else to go. It was a rather fruitful expedition, though. Got a few game and PC magazines, and that CSS book I've taken out so many times but never even read one page of. Oh, and I paid a $3 fine.

Happy Mother's Day!

...was what I wanted to say, but the civil war continued from the week before, and the atmosphere was tense at best. Things seemed to look up during service though, and they seemed to be making up.

It turned out to be one big illusion. After the family prayer, the truce was over and the two were back at it. Aren't I glad that I'm working a full shift tomorrow...

Oooh! My very first virus extermination!

After some frustration at not able to connect online, I was able to figure out what went wrong. Once the driver for the on-board NIC was installed and the computer restarted, I went to download and install Zone Alarm right away. During the process of downloading and installing other necessities like anti-virus and Windows patches, many programs asked for permission to go online. When the security software were all in place, I checked the list of programs and started removing the installers and such. Two caught my attention as I've never seen them before, appearing to be Windows update files. Of course, not having to use legitimate XP Pro before, I didn't realise it at first. But it alerted me when they kept asking for permission right after I removed them from the list. To my surprise, a quick search on Google revealed them to be viruses.

After much struggles and frustration, I was finally able to remove the two of them with the help of AVG and PC-cillin's housecall online scan. I also learned that neither was able to detect both. Of course, I didn't think of it sooner before removing them. I never got to learn whether Norton could find both.

Anyway, it was fun and challenging (though many people would probably see it as a piece of cake) while it lasted. I didn't really care because I had just installed Windows and could easily reinstall it if need be. It would prove to be a major problem if similar incidents take place in the future. Here's hoping, and keeping my fingers crossed.

Ah, the joy of installing Windows... and re-installing Windows...

How do you partition the hard drive?? T__T I had to reformat the whole thing and reinstall Windows just because I screwed up at the attempt to partition it. In the end, I kept the 120 G as one drive. I'll figure something out in the future if I remember.

The more immediate problems being... Why am I not connected to the Internet? Isn't that the LAN port? Why isn't it connecting? And why does the screen look so terrible?? Isn't LCD suppose to look great? Did I waste all that money on the video card? Should I had gone with a CRT instead?

Gotta post the paper draft first. I'll leave those for tomorrow... -___-

Is that what I think it is? PANTSU?! I'm actually seeing them hanged on a laundry rope beside the road?! I know it's technically in the backyard, but you live right next to the street, man!

We planned a surprise for Lisa during cell group for her birthday. Nothing special, but the mousse cakes were delicious. I especially liked the green tea (I'm a sucker for almost anything green tea) and the mango flavoured ones. ^Q^

How is "Coordinator" for a name? XP

No, I'm not obsessed with Gundam SEED. I'm simply following the naming convention. The previous PC was named New Type because it was much faster and superior than its predecessor, which was named Prototype when the hard drive was installed in the PC as a slave drive. So, since the new system is even better than New Type, I thought Coordinator might be a good choice. In a sense, the new system will lead the way, just like how the term "coordinator" came to being in SEED.

Of course, I'm keeping this to myself. I don't suppose anyone else would find the name meaningful. They'd either roll their eyes and snort in disdain, or give me a very strange look. Provided they know where I'm getting this name from. Anyway, it's Coordinator now. XD

The new computer system has arrived! ｰｰ（°∀°）ｰｰ

But I'm missing the keyboard and the mouse, and I have yet to clear up the space for it in my room, so they'd have to stay in the boxes in the den for now.

And I've gone back to NES once again. Not wanting to having to try to figure out where I was and how my party was doing, I opted to start anew. Not DQ3, of course. It's DQ4. If I remember it right, I only got as far as the martial arts competition part in chapter three. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish the whole game this time. :)

Calgary advances to the Western Conference Final after defeating Detroit in the overtime! ｰｰ（°∀°）ｰｰ

Though, what impresses me the most is how united their fans are. One glance over the stadium was all I needed. Over 80% of them were wearing the red Calgary jerseys, and 10% of them wore other types of clothing with the Calgary signs. It was truly a red sea of people!

I'm not really a big Calgary fan, but since Vancouver's out, they're the next best choice. I *always* root for the Canadian teams. I want Calgary to win the Stanley Cup this year! >▽<

They seem to be doing well with overtimes this year, winning the series with both Vancouver and Detroit in the overtime. Go all the way, Calgary! I'll be watching! :)

And Jugi is a sore loser, giving up watching after Detroit lost. XP

吁~ That was quite a scare. I thought they really cut our Internet. O﹏O

Luckily (?), I was able to access the Internet after re-plugging the cables. But who knows when they'd be true to their words and cut it for real? Gotta remain a low profile for now... -__-

On another note, it's been waaaaaay too long since I last done any translation or update of the 5B2F site. Gotta finish those today before another hectic week takes over.

Maji???!!!! It's 30 GB, not 3 GB??!! ( д ) ﾟ ﾟ

No wonder we get these warnings.. I really have to cut down on my downloads, don't I? Oh well, lesson number one: self-discipline... -__-

Last day for filing income tax!!

The whole ordeal started out with quite a frenzy as I failed to locate one of my T4 slips. Thankfully, I was able to find the letter buried under the pile of stuff on the desk. ^__^;;

It took me about half an hour to key in everything, about the same as last year. But this year, we've decided to try filing it online to save ink/paper/money/time/frustration. Really, if we had to print off all three sets, it would had taken us (or more specifically, me, as I am responsible for every computer/printer problem in the house) hours just to get them right. The poor little old Canon has become a living dead for months now.

We're all happy when the tax filing was done and over with (and keep our fingers crossed and hope none of us get audited), we went to Tokachi for dinner. As usual, the green tea ice cream was the best part of the meal. XD We even happened to see one of our neighbours there, too.

But things started going downhill after the meal and some grocery shopping at T&T. Our garage door finally gave in. With the help of the neighbour's kid who was playing outside, we managed to get the cars out before the whole door crashed down. Thank goodness it's almost summer so it's not so much of a deal to park the cars outside. I hope it's not too expensive to replace the door thing. A lot of things seem to be needing replacement after 10 years: printer, garage door, fridge (anytime now), stove (sooner or later), answering machine. Yes, we just found that the answering machine had died while we were out. Oh, joy. -__-